EXPOTITION AWESOMENESS: Hanging out with Owls, Hiking with Hawks
this whole eire adventure has been something akin to a fairytale — and our newest home away from home is straight out of a storybook. mt falcon consists of manor house that might as well be a castle, with a variety of places to stay throughout the property, be it the hotel rooms, the condos, the cabins in the woods or by the lake, a gym AND spa AND swimming pool in a glass enclosure looking out to the forest. i know — i should SHUT UP right now — and yet i cannot — because — this place also has a FALCONRY…with an amazing falconer named izabella.
our first encounter was a most happy surprise as i meandered into the estate house, finding this gorgeous woman in her falconry uniform standing with a barn owl on her glove. WHAT? yes — a barn owl in the hotel lobby, cuz that’s a normal occurrence, right? of all times to have left my phone charging back at the condo — argh. the flip side was the opportunity to sit back, watching intently as izabella the falconer (falconess?) and another employee practiced glove to glove maneuvers with the barn owl named little star who was having none of it, choosing instead to roost over the doorway. eventually the owl swooped down to get a treat and i was invited to pet her. that’s when i mentioned i love owls. izabella’s eyes flashed and she said she would be right back (and that i had time to run to get my camera.) a few moments later, I met benjamin — her very own one month old bengali eagle owl. he cannot fly yet and is ever so fluffy. izabella placed him into my lap, benjamin responded by pooing on me! the new momma was chagrined but i took it as a sure sign that the bonding has begun. it turns out that owls can be affectionate if they are given tlc in the beginning. i immediately signed on as auntie.
a few days later i saw benjamin and the rest of the winged posse when r and i went for an info session and a hawk walk. of course its a bit of a pavlovian affair as the “treats” are the main motivator for the bird to flip flap fly and then return to glove. still, to be this up close and personal is quite the gift for the humans involved. izabella is very good at her job — spouting each bird’s super powers, followed by “isn’t that class?” indeed it is and so is she - beyond respect, knowledge and care for these winged creatures, her enthusiasm is infectious. her abilities to connect with guests of all ages makes the hawk walk an even more indelible memory.
owls, red tail hawks, ravens — have been part of my psyche and my physical kinesphere for … well. forever it seems. but aside from the baby owl that somehow was caught in the stairwell of our first house (over 30 years ago) — I’ve NEVER been this close up and personal. ( i think i’ve found my next profession, if only someone would adopt us so we can stay in ireland.) it is crazy to say that on so many levels — but i’m referring to the fact that i am typically squeamish about things — the fact that i was feeding discernible baby chick parts did not phase me one bit. perhaps if i was actually hunting with these divine creatures instead of walking in the woods — or if i had to prepare their meals, well, that might be a different story. but that isn’t a factor in any of this fantasy. the reality of spending time and connecting with the baby owl and the rest of the gang has been sheer magic.
to be continued for sure for sure, meanwhile here’s the photo journal part of this story:
new momma with her baby bird
photo by dj
portrait of benjamin at one month of age
photo by dj
meet arizona, a desert hawk
photo by dj
hawk in sight, hawk in flight, emerging from her camouflaged perch
photo by r kerr
“isn’t that class?”
photo by dj
r and arizona sizing each other up
photo by izabella
in a forest in ireland, walkin’ w arizona, a desert hawk
photo by r kerr
